Review: Rocky Talkie 5-Watt GMRS Backcountry Radio
Powder aims to feature only the best products and services. If you buy something via one of our links, we may earn a commission.
Just a few short years ago, it seemed that radio usage in backcountry skiing was still relegated to only professional use - guides, patrollers, SAR teams, and film crews. The average recreationalist stuck to shouting at each through the trees in an effort to communicate everything from location to conditions to good ol’ fashioned stoke. What a long way we’ve come! It seems like today everyone’s walking around the mountains with a shoulder mic telling stories over the airwaves - has the popularity of radio usage maybe grown to a fault?
Photo: Rocky Talkie
Rocky Talkie just released their new 5-Watt GMRS radio, designed for heavy-duty use by backcountry skiers, whitewater kayakers, and other winter mountain athletes. They’ve also just launched a new grassroots initiative aimed at compiling and sharing all the backcountry community radio channels that exist in North America. Ever thought, “why don’t we have a standardized channel for inter-group communication in a specific zone?” Well, those are starting to exist in lots of places across the continent. Check out Rocky Talkie’s list and more information on the initiative here.
Rocky Talkie 5-Watt GMRS Radio
In a Nutshell
GMRS Powder: 5 Watts
Typical Range: 5-8 miles
Battery: 1800 mAH
Rocky Talkie first entered the radio market in 2019 with the Mountain Radio, a small unit designed to cater to the needs of big-wall rock climbers and other backcountry users. It’s a simple radio designed to communicate effectively among small groups that are relatively close together. This year, they’ve launched a new 5-Watt GMRS radio that’s essentially a Mountain Radio on steroids. It’s designed with professional use in mind, but for recreationalists looking for an extremely high-quality waterproof radio with extra power and some neat features, it’s a really good option.
GMRS is a different class of radio from the run-of-the-mill FRS type. They require a $30 FCC license to legally operate and allow for vastly increased range and access to specially reserved channels. It is still fully compatible with standard FRS radios (like BCA Links, Rocky Talkie’s older Mountain Radio, and most “walkie-talkie” radios from Midland, Motorola, Baofeng, and other manufacturers).
The 5-Watt comes with an upgraded shoulder mic that has a PTT button, volume control, and the ability to switch between programmable A and B channels. That means you can stash the main unit safely inside your pack, and run the mic out your hydration port and clip it securely onto your pack’s shoulder strap.
I’ve found that those programmable A and B channels are probably the most significantly useful part of the radio. Unlike BCA’s multiple programmable channels that simply switch between frequencies, the Rocky Talkie 5-Watt allows you to monitor both A and B channels simultaneously and then choose which one to transmit on. If you’re operating in an area with a designated community channel (more on that below), program that as your channel B, set your own group’s frequency to channel A, and you can talk to your friends and listen in on what’s going on around you at the same time. If you need to transmit on channel B, simply push the A/B button on the mic or the radio unit and it will switch over.
Audio quality is really really good, largely thanks to greater 5-watt power and upgraded hardware in the radio. It sounds noticeably clearer and has less static than any FRS radio I’ve ever used.
The entire unit is rated as IP67 Waterproof (submerged up to 1m), has a long-lasting battery that’s rated for use in the cold (up to 5 days on a charge in -20F), and has a 35-mile range in open terrain (Rocky Talkie says in the mountains that gets reduced to 2-8 miles). The GMRS features also include access to eight repeater channels to extend your range, something I probably won’t ever use, but can be crucial in a professional setting. Finally, it also can scan 11 NOAA weather radio channels that automatically broadcast local weather updates.
At $165 a unit, the 5-Watt Radio is not super cheap, but the build quality and the features specifically designed for backcountry use make it stand out from the rest. Want something that you can rely on daily for heavy-duty use in rough conditions? Look no further.
Photo: Rocky Talkie
Compared to other units on the market, the added power and range are really what sets the Rocky Talkie apart from something like the BCA Link 2.0, Link Mini, or even Rocky Talkie’s Mountain Radio. From a user perspective that means more reliability in real-life mountain settings, whether that’s in or around a ski area or deep in the backcountry.
Community Channel Initiative
To learn more about backcountry community channels, I spoke with Rocky Talkie’s Erin Moeller about their new Community Channel Initiative. Common-use channels are nothing new, but without a central place listing them, it’s been difficult getting folks to use them. Sure, you might know your local community radio channel, but what if you’re on a ski trip to a new zone?
High-use backcountry recreation areas like Telluride, Snoqualmie Pass, Teton Pass, and the Wasatch have been trying to implement these for the last few winters, with varied success. In 2016, a paper presented at the International Snow Science Workshop (ISSW) studied how common radio channels could help increase safety margins in the backcountry, with the conclusion that if used properly, could prove to greatly increase those margins.
Per Rocky Talkie’s definition, a backcountry community channel is “a designated radio channel for a specific zone where parties communicate when exiting, entering, or traveling through exposed terrain and can share information on hazards, conditions, and group status.” In other words, monitor these designated channels to get a feel for what’s going on around you in crowded areas, and transmit on them if you are entering or exiting terrain that’s only got room for one party, or if something goes wrong and you need outside assistance.
These are not established or regulated by the FCC, or any official body, but really are just a grassroots effort at getting us to talk to each other in the mountains in a productive, courteous, and safe manner.
